Week 1: 4/3 to 4/9
4/3: FLO 1 @ SF 2 - WP: Zito (1-0, 1.13), SV: Valverde (1); HR: Bonds (1)
Interesting to play this one out. I decided to see if I could get a better performance out of Zito by having him pitch around some of these guys. He ended up walking five and striking out three, and some of those walks were with runners on second, which made me a little nervous. It was almost like watching it on TV. Barry Bonds hit his first home run of the year, 331 to right field.
4/4: FLO 6 @ SF 1 - LP: Cain (0-1, 2.84 ERA)
Wow, Cain got roughed up in the first five innings, getting tagged for three... but the interesting thing is the fact that two of the runs were unearned because of an error made by Ray Durham from second. Not a bad ERA for zero run support, either, but Anibal Sanchez was lights out, going 7.0 IP with 3 HA, 1 ER and 3 Ks.
TRADE ALERT: Minnesota is offering Jeff Cirillo and they want Noah Lowry in return. Hmm... I need pitching more than hitting right now. I'm curious to see how Lowry does in his start against Philadelphia on Saturday before considering putting him on the block.
4/5: FLO 2 @ SF 0 - LP: Morris (0-1, 2.25 ERA)
I'm... stunned. We got blanked by Josh Johnson who went seven and two-thirds and only allowed three hits. He allowed five walks, three of which were to Barry Bonds. I'm willing to let this lineup stand over the weekend, because now I'm really curious to see how they handle the Phillies. But something's got to give here, soon.. if nothing changes.
4/6: OFF
4/7: SF 6 @ PHI 8 - LP: Benitez (0-1, 18.00 ERA); HR: Feliz (1)
So far, not so good. Lowry gave up 6 runs in the second and third innings, which nullified the Giants 2-0 lead they handed him in the top of the first. Lowry went 7.0 IP, with 12 HA, 6 ER and 3 Ks. Pat Burrell went yard off of him in the second with a solo shot. I brought Benitez in because I figured he could at least hold the tie, once the Giants tied it up in the top of the eighth, but he gave up three hits including an RBI triple. Now he should understand why I'm not confident in his ability to save games.
4/8: SF 4 @ PHI 2 - WP: Zito (2-0, 1.69 ERA), SV: Benitez (1); HR: Aurilia (1), Durham (1)
Better. And scratch what I said about Benitez. Every time he make me want to kill him, he goes and throws a scoreless inning to nab a save. He's such a drama whore. Zito did well, allowing eight hits and two runs, striking out five in eight innings. By the way, four of those eight hits were doubles. This does not bode well, but he's not exactly a flame-throwing ace. Fred Lewis collected his fifth stolen bag in the leadoff position and all I can say is, this kid is good. Omar Vizquel nabbed his first bag of the season, too. I'm hoping Lewis can carry his .364 average into the second week because he is impressing the hell out of me.
4/9: SF 8 @ PHI 16 - LP: Cain (0-2, 10.00 ERA)
Ryan Howard owns Matt Cain. He went yard twice off Cain; a two-run shot in the third and then another in the fourth. That was when we needed to sit him down because he is off to a horrible start so far this season and it can't be good for the kid. On the other side of the pillow (warm), Lewis grabbed two more bags to put him up to a league-leading seven SBs so far. He's three ahead of Juan Pierre, who has four. Although it was pitching that was our Archilles' heel (Cortes, Taschner and Atchison combined for an ERA of 43.15 in only 3 innings of relief), the bats were cracking. Dave Roberts hit two RBI Doubles, and Vizquel managed a double for himself. Roberts had four total bases on the game. While this was a sound shellacking, I'm walking away from this learning more about the team. Heck, it's only the first week of play, anyhow.
Standings:
Code:
American League Standings
East
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Boston Red Sox 4 2 .667 - 4-2 0 4-2 0-0 1-0 2-0 156 W2 4-2
Baltimore Orioles 3 3 .500 1.0 3-3 0 0-0 3-3 0-0 2-0 L1 3-3
New York (A) Yankees 3 3 .500 1.0 3-3 0 3-3 0-0 0-0 2-2 W1 3-3
Toronto Blue Jays 3 3 .500 1.0 3-3 0 0-0 3-3 0-0 0-0 L1 3-3
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2 4 .333 2.0 3-3 -1 0-0 2-4 0-1 1-4 L2 2-4
Central
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Kansas City Royals 4 1 .800 - 3-2 1 4-1 0-0 0-0 2-1 156 W2 4-1
Cleveland Indians 3 3 .500 1.5 4-2 -1 0-0 3-3 0-0 0-1 W1 3-3
Detroit Tigers 3 3 .500 1.5 3-3 0 2-1 1-2 0-0 3-1 W1 3-3
Minnesota Twins 3 3 .500 1.5 3-3 0 2-1 1-2 0-0 2-2 L2 3-3
Chicago (A) White Sox 2 4 .333 2.5 2-4 0 0-0 2-4 0-0 0-2 L1 2-4
West
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Oakland Athletics 4 3 .571 - 3-4 1 1-2 3-1 0-0 2-0 156 L1 4-3
Los Angeles (A) Angels 3 3 .500 .5 4-2 -1 2-1 1-2 0-0 0-0 W1 3-3
Seattle Mariners 3 4 .429 1.0 3-4 0 3-4 0-0 0-0 0-1 L1 3-4
Texas Rangers 3 4 .429 1.0 3-4 0 3-4 0-0 0-0 0-2 W1 3-4
AL Wild Card
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Baltimore Orioles 3 3 .500 - 3-3 0 0-0 3-3 0-0 2-0 157 L1 3-3
Cleveland Indians 3 3 .500 - 4-2 -1 0-0 3-3 0-0 0-1 157 W1 3-3
Detroit Tigers 3 3 .500 - 3-3 0 2-1 1-2 0-0 3-1 157 W1 3-3
Los Angeles (A) Angels 3 3 .500 - 4-2 -1 2-1 1-2 0-0 0-0 157 W1 3-3
Minnesota Twins 3 3 .500 - 3-3 0 2-1 1-2 0-0 2-2 157 L2 3-3
New York (A) Yankees 3 3 .500 - 3-3 0 3-3 0-0 0-0 2-2 157 W1 3-3
Toronto Blue Jays 3 3 .500 - 3-3 0 0-0 3-3 0-0 0-0 157 L1 3-3
Seattle Mariners 3 4 .429 .5 3-4 0 3-4 0-0 0-0 0-1 L1 3-4
Texas Rangers 3 4 .429 .5 3-4 0 3-4 0-0 0-0 0-2 W1 3-4
Chicago (A) White Sox 2 4 .333 1.0 2-4 0 0-0 2-4 0-0 0-2 L1 2-4
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2 4 .333 1.0 3-3 -1 0-0 2-4 0-1 1-4 L2 2-4
National League Standings
East
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
New York (N) Mets 5 1 .833 - 5-1 0 5-1 0-0 1-0 1-1 156 W3 5-1
Philadelphia Phillies 4 2 .667 1.0 4-2 0 4-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 W1 4-2
Florida Marlins 3 4 .429 2.5 3-4 0 0-0 3-4 0-0 0-1 L3 3-4
Atlanta Braves 2 4 .333 3.0 2-4 0 0-0 2-4 0-0 2-0 L1 2-4
Washington Nationals 0 6 .000 5.0 2-4 -2 0-0 0-6 0-1 0-3 L6 0-6
Central
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
Houston Astros 5 1 .833 - 4-2 1 5-1 0-0 0-0 2-1 157 W1 5-1
St. Louis Cardinals 4 1 .800 .5 4-1 0 2-1 2-0 0-0 0-1 W1 4-1
Milwaukee Brewers 4 2 .667 1.0 3-3 1 4-2 0-0 1-0 2-0 W1 4-2
Chicago (N) Cubs 4 3 .571 1.5 5-2 -1 0-0 4-3 0-0 1-1 W2 4-3
Cincinnati Reds 2 4 .333 3.0 2-4 0 0-0 2-4 0-0 1-0 L1 2-4
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 5 .167 4.0 1-5 0 1-5 0-0 0-0 0-1 L2 1-5
West
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
San Diego Padres 4 2 .667 - 4-2 0 4-2 0-0 0-0 2-1 156 W2 4-2
Colorado Rockies 4 3 .571 .5 4-3 0 3-1 1-2 0-0 1-1 W3 4-3
Arizona Diamondbacks 3 3 .500 1.0 3-3 0 0-0 3-3 0-1 1-1 L1 3-3
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 2 4 .333 2.0 3-3 -1 1-2 1-2 0-0 0-2 L2 2-4
San Francisco Giants 2 4 .333 2.0 2-4 0 1-2 1-2 0-0 1-0 L1 2-4
NL Wild Card
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10
St. Louis Cardinals 4 1 .800 - 4-1 0 2-1 2-0 0-0 0-1 157 W1 4-1
Milwaukee Brewers 4 2 .667 .5 3-3 1 4-2 0-0 1-0 2-0 W1 4-2
Philadelphia Phillies 4 2 .667 .5 4-2 0 4-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 W1 4-2
Chicago (N) Cubs 4 3 .571 1.0 5-2 -1 0-0 4-3 0-0 1-1 W2 4-3
Colorado Rockies 4 3 .571 1.0 4-3 0 3-1 1-2 0-0 1-1 W3 4-3
Arizona Diamondbacks 3 3 .500 1.5 3-3 0 0-0 3-3 0-1 1-1 L1 3-3
Florida Marlins 3 4 .429 2.0 3-4 0 0-0 3-4 0-0 0-1 L3 3-4
Atlanta Braves 2 4 .333 2.5 2-4 0 0-0 2-4 0-0 2-0 L1 2-4
Cincinnati Reds 2 4 .333 2.5 2-4 0 0-0 2-4 0-0 1-0 L1 2-4
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 2 4 .333 2.5 3-3 -1 1-2 1-2 0-0 0-2 L2 2-4
San Francisco Giants 2 4 .333 2.5 2-4 0 1-2 1-2 0-0 1-0 L1 2-4
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 5 .167 3.5 1-5 0 1-5 0-0 0-0 0-1 L2 1-5
Washington Nationals 0 6 .000 4.5 2-4 -2 0-0 0-6 0-1 0-3 L6 0-6
Transactions of Note:
- 4/1: The San Francisco Giants traded 21-year old minor league shortstop M. Sanders to the Arizona Diamondbacks, getting 27-year old closer J. Valverde and 23-year old minor league reliever F. del Guidice in return.
- 4/3: The Detroit Tigers traded 25-year old shortstop O. Infante to the Houston Astros, getting 28-year old reliever C. Qualls in return.
- 4/5: The Atlanta Braves traded 31-year old shortstop E. Renteria and 23-year old minor league reliever J. Devine to the San Diego Padres, getting 30-year old reliever S. Strickland and 22-year old minor league reliever B. Kintzler in return.
Weekly Awards
- RF M. Ordonez of the Detroit Tigers honored: Wins the MLB AL Player of the Week Award.
- C M. Barrett of the Chicago (N) Cubs honored: Wins the MLB NL Player of the Week Award.
Injuries:
Monday, April 9th, 2007
- Washington Nationals: C. Cordero was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: back spasms. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 1-2 weeks.
Sunday, April 8th, 2007
- New York (A) Yankees: R. Cano was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: strained Achilles tendon. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last one week.
Friday, April 6th, 2007
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays: C. Crawford was injured on a defensive play. The Diagnosis: bruised wrist. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last one week.
- New York (N) Mets: C. Beltran was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: strained hip muscle. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 1-2 weeks.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007
- Los Angeles (A) Angels: G. Matthews Jr. was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: strained groin muscle. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 2 weeks.
- Texas Rangers: I. Kinsler was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: damaged meniscus (knee). This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 4 days.
- Oakland Athletics: E. Ramirez was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: dead arm syndrome. He's expected to miss about 1-2 weeks.
- Atlanta Braves: K. Johnson was injured on a defensive play. The Diagnosis: pinched nerve (neck). He's expected to miss about 2 weeks.
Wednesday, April 4th, 2007
- Oakland Athletics: E. Chavez was injured while throwing the ball. The Diagnosis: back spasms. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 3 days.
- Washington Nationals: B. Chen was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: strained back muscle. He's expected to miss about 7 weeks.
What's on TAP for the Giants in Week 2?:
4/10: @ CHC
4/11: @ CHC
4/12: @ CHC
4/13: @ CHC
4/14: vs COL
4/15: vs COL
4/16: vs COL
-- ZC